


Hazbin Hotel: Rewritten

by soapostate



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Christian Mythology, Rewrite, Rewriting Hazbin Hotel, Satanic Mythology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25391674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapostate/pseuds/soapostate
Summary: In this rewrite of the Hazbin Hotel series by Vivienne "Vivziepop" Medrano, Charlie Magne, the sheltered daughter of the queens of Hell, makes a deal with the Devil after claiming that she can help solve Hell's overpopulation problem. She moves to the Ninth Circle of Hell to open her redemption service and is met with more issues than she ever thought possible. From a megalomaniacal infernal lord to a non-consenting fixer-upper, Charlie has her hands full at her Happy Hotel.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet our protagonist, Charlie Magne, who's made a deal with a devil. She may have bitten off more than she can chew.

The queen of Hell stood tall against the elaborate backdrop of her giant, jagged black palace. Her pale complexion, platinum blonde hair, and white suit made her stick out like a sore thumb against her gloomy surroundings. The only thing that seemed of this world with Lucifer was the pale demon on her arm—Lillith, a porcelain-skinned, black lipped, purple-clad and red-horned humanoid with poorly dyed bright blonde hair. Both of these infernal titans stared nervously at their daughter, brows furrowed, as she prepared to leave their care.

“You’re sure you want to do this? I mean, your mother and I support you, but...really? This is Hell, Charlie. Folks here are far beyond redemption,” Lucifer said, reaching out and brushing a strand of her daughter’s long blonde hair behind her white ear.

“Yes, Mom,” Charlie huffed, sending a small puff of smoke rolling out from her mouth. “I promise. I’ve put a ton of thought into this, okay? If it doesn’t work out in six months I’ll come back and live here with you forever. Just like we said.”  
“Never make a deal with a devil, Charlotte,” Lillith, sighed around her cigarette holder. “Especially your mom.”

“I know this is gonna work out, Mother,” The young demon said, her eyes narrowed. “If you’re so worried, why didn’t you stop me when I signed the deal with Mom?”  
  
Lillith raised her elegantly plucked brows in surprise. “Why, dear,” Lillith said, a snakelike grin appearing on her face. “You’ve got me there. Have fun, sweetie. _Can’t wait_ to have you back here in six months.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for checking out this story! Before you go apeshit on me for Hating On Hazbin Hotel, the holiest of all holies, please read!
> 
> I am personally not a fan of Hazbin Hotel, but I recognize that it has potential and seek to bring that potential to light in this rewrite. I feel there is a lot of work to be done to make it a comprehensible and worthwhile! Of course, my rewrite will never be perfect, but I'm a slut for a good rewrite and loredump, so here it is. Enjoy!


	2. Fumbled Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie arrives at her new hotel, but it's already occupied. Will its resident join her on her quest, or kick her to the curb?

A twisted melody of people yelling, cars honking, and distant explosions filled the atmosphere of the Ninth Circle of Hell, which was barely held back by the walls of the black limousine Charlie rode in. 

The demon was practically buzzing with nervous energy. This just _had_ to work. Charlie wanted to be her own person, but if her idea failed, she’d be forced to remain with her mothers for eternity, never leaving their palace in the First Circle ever again.

Lucifer and Lillith had always been too protective of Charlie. She was their youngest and the one that they decided to give a ‘normal childhood’ and raise her best they could, unlike her older siblings, who went on to join in the infernal revelry of Hell. Charlie was the babied one—the purest creation Lucifer had managed to make, and they never wanted to let her leave. And it was hell, literally, for her. Being raised by two obviously evil individuals poorly attempting to be good parents was not good for Charlie’s mental health. They just ended up being overprotective, hovering, and very stiff.

“It’s on the next left,” Charlie said to the driver, a tall, faceless wraith with eerily long hands. Wraiths were her moms’ servants and she _hated_ them.   
The wraith replied with a wheezing cough which was cut off as it slammed on the brakes. Charlie was sent flying into the divider between the driver’s seat and the rest of the limo with a startled yelp. “What was that for?” She groaned, crawling back into her seat.

“Watch where you’re fuckin’ driving!” An angry, sloppy voice brought Charlie’s attention to the front of the car, where an eight-eyed and -legged, white-furred creature stared angrily from where he had been plastered against the windshield. “I’ll fuckin’ rip your car to shreds, you mother–”  
  
The spider demon’s profanities were cut off as a thin, black-scaled snake demon with a yellow crest launched itself at him, hissing something about eggs. Charlie stared blankly out the window as the wraith once again began driving. The car seemed to hit a bump as they drove by. Charlie swore she heard an angry hiss.

After quite the rude awakening, the limousine arrived at a large decaying black-brick building on top of a suspiciously empty hill compared to the rest of the crowded, slum-filled Ninth Circle. An empty billboard-type sign sprung from the top of the structure, looking dangerously close to falling fourteen stories to its doom past shattered windows and exposed pipeage. “It looked a little better in the picture,” Charlie remarked to herself as the wraith unlocked the doors with a _click-thud_ .  
  
“Thanks,” The demon muttered to her driver and climbed out of the limo, taking her two leather suitcases with her.

As soon as she shut the car door, the limousine sped off, leaving Charlie alone on Golgotha Hill, home to her passion project, the Golgotha Happy Hotel. This hotel was going to finally bring an end to the awful yearly slaughtering of a portion of Hell’s citizens by the angels of Heaven. Charlie was going to rehabilitate demons and finally bring them to salvation.

At least, that’s what she hoped to do. The unexpectedly run-down appearance of the hotel was just the first of many things that would get in the way of Charlie’s dream, but she was in this for the long haul. It was time to get to work.

\------

The interior of the building was just as bad as the outside—it was covered in vulgar graffiti, cobwebs, and rubble. The entirety of the structure was doused in black paint, which was peeling to reveal faded, ugly floral wallpaper. The skittering of rats could be heard coming from within the walls. “Well, this is more work than I thought, but we’ll get it done,” Charlie muttered, setting her suitcases down by what was probably the front desk at one point. She opened one and out jumped a fat little pink pig, black spikes sprouting from its back. “Welcome home, Nuggets.”

The small pig oinked and began sniffing around the room, snorting when she got a cobweb or bug in her nose. “I know, I know. We have to clean up. But I think this place has a lot of potential!” Charlie said to her pet, though her enthusiasm was hollow.

Nuggets returned to her owner and stuck her nose up for a pat, which Charlie happily gave her. “It’s just you and me, huh?”  
“And me,” A stern female voice came from behind the pair, startling both of them.

“Huh?” Charlie whirled around to see a young-looking, gray-skinned woman with long white hair staring her down. A wicked spear was clutched in her hands, pointed right at Charlie’s throat.

“What’re you doing here?” The other demon asked, her light eyes narrowed and her black lips pulled back in a grimace. Her voice was pleasantly smooth and she was very pretty, especially for a demon, but the deadly look on her face took away the initial attraction Charlie felt. “Everyone knows this is my den. Outsiders aren’t allowed.”  
  
“Uh, I didn't know that,” Charlie said as the woman neared her, eventually getting close enough to practically press the blade to her throat. “I bought this place around two weeks ago. It’s my place now.”

The woman let out a forced laugh. “Someone tried to sell this place, and you _bought_ it? Are you really that much of an idiot?”

Charlie bent down to pick up Nuggets. The spear’s head followed her as she went. “Isn’t that how it works?”

  
“Not here, honey,” Came the reply. “I own this place because _I’m_ the only one strong enough to keep others out. That includes you and your...pig thing.”

  
“You don’t understand—I can’t leave,” Charlie argued desperately. Imagine the look on her mothers’ faces when they found out she’d failed before the first day was over. And when her siblings found out...now _that_ would be hell.

  
“Why not?”

  
“Because! I made a deal with my moms that I’d open this hotel and make it work. I can’t leave now.”

  
The gray demon raised an intrigued brow. “That won’t matter. Promises aren’t kept here. Are you new or something?”

  
“Uh, yeah, I am,” Charlie said. “I’m trying to start a hotel. Sort of like a...rehab thing. To redeem people here so they won’t get killed during the Scourging.”  
  
The Scourging was the annual killing-off of certain Hell residents to prevent overpopulation in the Infernal Realm. Angels called the Exterminators came and wielded swords and scourges of heavenly flame, leaving disintegrating demons in their wake. What was so terrible about the Scourging compared to normal demon-on-demon violence was that when a demon is killed by another demon, its soul would reform back into the realm some way, be it as a tree, a devilbird, or a new demon form. But when a demon is killed by an angel with a heavenly weapon, its essence vanishes from Hell completely, effectively removing the soul from existence completely. Charlie wanted to fix this. She wanted to redeem these infernal souls so that maybe the Exterminators would take them up to Heaven, the Eternal Realm, to become angels themselves. She didn't know this for sure, but if it worked, Charlie could fix the overpopulation problem and save the demons of Hell once and for all.

“Huh,” The demon said, slightly lowering her spear. A curious look spread across her features. “Fine. You can use this building, and I guess I’ll help you with your hotel since it’s kind of boring here anyway. It sounds like it will be... _interesting_.”  
Surprised by her sudden change of heart, Charlie smiled. “Oh, really? Thank you! My name is Charlie. Uh, nice to meet you,” She stuck out her hand for a handshake.

“I’m Natalia,” The other woman said, taking her hand with a very off-put shake. She was probably surprised by Charlie’s manners. Lillith had taught her well. “You’re not like anyone else I’ve met here, Charlie.”

  
“That’s the point.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the biggest change you've probably noticed is that I changed Vaggie's name to Natalia. This is for no other reason than that I absolutely HATE the name Vaggie. It sounds like vagina. I think Natalia is a better name for a latinx demon anyway.
> 
> Also, Fat Nuggets makes her debut, except this time as Charlie's faithful pet sow instead of Angeldust's hog!
> 
> So, anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! It's a bit short, but the chapters will get longer as the story progresses. I'm excited to start getting more into the story and lore—I have a lot planned!


	3. Dust Yourself Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Natalia discuss the name of the hotel. A certain spider makes an explosive entrance.

“So you really want to call it the Happy Hotel?” Natalia asked, reclining with her spear resting over her leg on one of the old-fashioned daybeds in what was and would be the lounge area of the hotel. They were dirty and probably full of bugs, but the young gray-skinned woman didn’t seem to mind.

“I was planning on it,” Charlie carefully sat on an old office chair that was behind the rotting front desk. It was one of the ones that could roll and spin, so she did so. “Because, y’know, we’re trying to get demons to be truly happy again.”

  
  
“Do you really think anyone in all of Hell would want to be caught dead at a place called the  _ Happy Hotel _ ?” Natalia remarked with a curl of her lip.

“I guess not,” Charlie shrugged, sticking her legs out and spinning herself on the moldy chair. “But do you have a better idea?”

  
  
Natalia paused, thinking. “Maybe something...less wholesome?”   


“Well that defeats the point!” Charlie said, throwing up her hands in exasperation.

“I mean–” Natalia was about to continue when an explosion rippled through the lobby of the hotel, hitting both of the women with hot, red flame. 

As a reflex Charlie closed her eyes and stumbled back. She tripped over one of the many thick, moth-eaten carpets with a yelp. When she opened her eyes, Natalia was bent over her, her hands on either side of her head and her knees on the floor, her legs practically straddling her. Natalia’s face was twisted up, but relaxed as she opened her eyes and made eye contact with the other demon. “What the fuck,” She cursed under her breath. Intense eyes focused on Charlie. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Charlie felt a small grin spread across her face. “Did you just save me? Is my redemption service already working on you?”

  
  
Realizing what she’d done, Natalia quickly jumped off of her. “Just instincts,” She scoffed, whirling around with a dramatic flip of her white hair to view the damage. Charlie soon followed, heaving herself up.

  
  
The entire west wall of the lobby was a pile of rubble now, charred and strewn across the scratched and faded linoleum tile floor. At the center of the destruction was what seemed to be a soot-covered pile of fur, which Natalia poked with her spear. “The fuck is this thing?”

  
  
“Maybe it’s a hairy bomb?” Charlie helpfully suggested.

Suddenly, the thing shuddered, then unrolled itself and stood up, revealing a frightening figure. A large, bipedal spider rose from the debris and shook itself, its six other hairy limbs stretching out and revealing their true white color. Its abdomen was tainted with light red, though it seemed to be its natural coloring instead of blood like Charlie had originally assumed. Eight black eyes opened with an audible, sticky sound and its chelicerae shuddered as it shook itself. “Sorry for the interruption, ladies,” The tarantula demon said, its voice surprisingly smooth for such an appalling creature. It seemed slightly familiar.

“Angel Dust?” Natalia said as Charlie took a step back in surprise. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  
  
The spider’s eyes widened in recognition. “Natty!” He said with a grin, approaching Natalia with open arms.

“D...on’t touch me,” Natalia curled her lip and pressed her spear to Angel Dust’s thorax to keep him at a distance.

  
  
“You know each other?” Charlie asked, very confused. “And  _ why _ in Hell did you crash through our wall?”

  
  
Angel Dust brushed himself off with four of his eight limbs, straightening his back and stretching at the same time. “Oh, I’ve never met you before,” He said, moving closer with unsettling grace. He leaned forward to inspect Charlie carefully. He was a bit taller than her, so he bent to be eye-level with the other demon. “Are you new? I like fresh blood.”

  
  
“Uh, yeah, I’m new in the Ninth,” Charlie smiled nervously and reached to shake one of his...hands? “I’m Charlie, nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Angel Dust took her hand and kissed it, a very, very strange feeling with his chelicerae brushing the skin of her hand unpleasantly.

“You didn’t answer her question, Angel,” Natalia interrupted, a skeptical brow raised. “Why are you here and  _ why _ did you fucking wreck the whole lobby?”

“Oh! That!” Angel Dust said, brightening. “This fucking snake asshole fucking shoved me in some cannon he made and shot me straight into this fucking place!”

So Angel Dust was the one Charlie had seen fighting the black snake guy when she was driving here. That’s why he seemed familiar. “Why the fuck did you let him put you in a cannon?” Natalia asked incredulously.

  
  
“I didn’t just  _ let _ him! Do you think I’m that stupid?” Angel Dust argued back. “That fuckin’ insane prick had his egg fuckers tie me up with some dynamite and shove me in it!”

  
  
Natalia pinched the bridge of her nose and the two demons began arguing further. Charlie, very uncomfortable when it came to conflict, began to start picking up the pieces of the shattered wall. It was going to take a lot to rebuild it—were there even hardware stores in the Ninth? How were they going to get the supplies to fix it?

  
  
“Listen, can I just crash here for a little so that Pentious fucker leaves me alone for a while?” Angel finally asked, throwing up his hands. “Pleaaaaaaaaase? You owe me a favor, Natty!”

  
  
“You. You just fucking wrecked my place!” Natalia snapped back. “I think your favor is that I don’t kill you right now!”

  
  
“Fair enough,” Angel shrugged. “But still! Just for a little bit?”

  
  
Natalia opened her mouth to reply, but Charlie stopped cleaning and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside. “You should say yes!” Charlie whispered quickly. “He seems nice...he could be our first resident!”

  
  
Natalia sighed. “I love your enthusiasm, but you  _ don’t _ want Angel Dust.”

  
  
“Why not?”

  
  
“This is one of the few times I haven’t seen him completely blackout drunk,” Natalia said. “He’s addicted to causing problems and probably every single drug in the entire realm, Charlie.”

  
  
“But we could still help him!” Charlie argued. “No one is a complete lost cause. You have to have faith!”

  
  
“Half the demons in the Ninth want Angel’s head on a stick,” The other demon said, her voice solemn. “If they find out we have him, they’ll tear us, and him, apart.”

“Then they won’t find out!” Charlie said, and Natalia let out a defeated sigh.

The pair turned back to Angel Dust. He was crouched over, petting Nuggets, who had come out of hiding after the explosion. “Your pig’s nice,” He said happily.

Charlie gave Natalia a look that said  _ See? He’s sweet! _ “We’ve decided you can stay with us for a little bit, Angel Dust.”

  
  
The spider immediately brightened and he stood up quickly. “Oh, thank you!”

  
  
“But one condition,” Charlie held up a hand, stopping Angel as he went to hug her. “You can’t drink or anything here.”

  
  
Angel’s face fell into incredulity. “What?”

  
  
“You can stay here as long as you want, free of charge, if you don’t drink or do drugs or anything like that.”

  
  
“Why the fu—Are you into torture or something?” Angel asked, his jaws clicking angrily as he spoke.

“No, but–” Right when Charlie was about to continue, a knock came at the door.

  
  
“WE’RE BUSY!” Natalia yelled. 

  
  
“Ssssssorry for the interruption, but do you happen to have a guy named Angel Dusssst with you?” Came a high-pitched voice through the door.

  
  
Natalia gave Charlie an ‘I told you so’ look and went over to the door after grabbing her spear. Charlie quickly grabbed Angel and threw him in a supply closet, slamming the door. “HEY!” He yelled in surprise, causing Charlie to hiss at him to be quiet.

  
  
Natalia opened the door, revealing a giant black snake, its hood flared and revealing bright yellow markings and many red eyes. A couple of small, weird egg-people stood with him. In his hands (why did this snake have hands?) he clutched a very deadly looking gun. “Sssssalutationssss!” The serpent said quickly, seemingly surprised someone opened the door.

“Hi,” Natalia grumbled. “Now what are you looking for?”

  
“A cccccccccertain ssssssspider named Angel Dusssst,” The demon said cheerfully. “He wassss helping me with sssssomething, and he may have acccccidentally crashed through your wall there.”

  
He pointed to the wall that had been decimated by Angel’s entrance. Charlie, who had returned to trying to clean it up and also look nonchalant, waved nervously at the snake. He returned her wave.

“We sent him on his way,” Natalia said. “But you really fucked up my wall. You’re lucky I don’t rip that forked-ass tongue out of your face for messing up my place.”

  
  
If a black snake could pale, he would have. “I–I’m sorry missssssss,” He said, hood flattening submissively. “Could you tell me which way he went?”

  
  
Natalia rolled her eyes and pointed towards the heart of the Ninth downtown. “He went down there.”

  
  
“Thankssssss!” The snake perked up, and then Natalia slammed the door in his face.

  
  
“I  _ told _ you!” Natalia said, apparently very pleased at being right. “Not even a minute after you say he can stay, we already have people wanting him! At least that guy was dumb enough not to try to come in and look for him!”

  
  
Charlie moved to go open the closet. As soon as she opened the door, Angel fell out very dramatically, knocking her over and landing on top of her. “So you’re a bottom, huh?”

  
  
Charlie pushed him off of her very quickly and stood up, dusting herself off. “You’re welcome for covering for you,” Natalia said, picking up the spinning office chair, which had been overturned in Angel’s explosive appearance.

“Thanks, sweetie,” He said with a mocking grin. “Now. Anyway. With that out of the way, what the fuck is all this ‘no sinning’ or whatever business?”

  
  
“This hotel is going to be a rehab center for demons who want to be redeemed and saved from the Scourging,” Charlie said quickly. “So, if you want to stay here, you’ll have to follow our rules.”

  
  
Angel raised a surprised brow, his eyes flitting to Natalia. “And you’re cool with this?”

  
  
“I don’t have anything better to do,” Natalia shrugged. “I figured it’d be interesting.”

“Hmph,” Angel Dust crossed his arms. “What’s in it for me?”

  
  
“A free place to stay, food and non-alcoholic drinks, and we’ll cover for you if anyone’s after you,” Charlie said proudly.

  
  
Angel looked very conflicted. “I’m definitely short on cash right now…” He said, more to himself than either of the women. He paused, thinking, before brightening up. “Fine!” He said. “It’s a deal. But only because I’m strapped for cash and I’ve pissed a whole bunch of people off this week.”

  
  
Natalia looked shocked, but Charlie gave a big grin and pulled the big spider in for a hug, surprising herself as much as Angel. The tarantula demon hugged her back tentatively, then they pulled apart.

  
“Now, let’s get a look at this dump! We’re gonna need some real reno before anyone with half a brain agrees to stay here,” Angel said, running around the lobby to inspect different parts of it.

  
  
“You’re staying here,” Natalia said.

  
  
“I know!”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! Angel is a very interesting character to me. I am not the biggest fan of his canon personality or appearance. I feel like he reeks too much of that harmful gay man stereotype, but at the same time I do enjoy some of his dialogue and story so far, including parts of Addict. I want to try to keep his essence, but get rid of some of that stereotypical stuff, you know? I also didn't really like that he was supposed to be a spider, but had two eyes and six (*sometimes* eight) legs. So, I made him a Brazilian red and white tarantula because it made more sense to me!
> 
> I also hope you liked my boy Sir Pentious' first appearance! I love my snake boy >:)


	4. Painting Over It Won't Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Natalia do some painting. Angel causes Charlie to see some cracks in her plan.

Angel Dust seemed to be doing pretty good with the Happy Hotel’s no-sinning policy, at least to Charlie. He was busying himself with fixing up the hotel, saying he might as well be useful while he was stuck there waiting out his pursuers. The spider demon already had a lot of the lobby done, patching his hole in the wall and cleaning up a bit.   
  
“It’s already going so well,” Charlie told Natalia as they sat behind the front desk, cleaning out old documents. “Angel seems really happy.”   
  
Natalia ignored Charlie, picking up a short stack of stapled papers and leafing through them. “Says here this place used to be a brothel,” She said matter-of-factly, shoving the papers in the other demon’s face. “We have a legacy to uphold, Charlie.”   


Charlie pushed her hand away with a chuckle. “Oh, shut up. Are you even listening to me?”   
  
“Sure I am,” Natalia said in a way that told Charlie she was definitely not listening to her. “Your therapy of manual labor is actually working, yada yada.”

“Hey, he offered to help!” Charlie argued lightheartedly.

She and Natalia had become closer over the past week as they slowly cleaned up the hotel. Natalia was still a bitch, but she was an Earth-born demon—she was a bad enough person to get into Hell, so at least she was being mostly nice. Just another demon Charlie would help! Except, Natalia’s redemption would have to be one she didn’t even know about.

The metallic thud of two paint cans being slammed on the counter caused both of the demons to look up with a start. “You find anything interesting there, ladies?” Angel Dust asked, setting two paint brushes on the counter along with the cans. “If not, I found some paint you could play around with on my incident over there,” He pointed to the newly-patched wall he’d entered the hotel through, which was free of the old-timey wallpaper that was plastered around the rest of the lobby.   
  
Charlie had expected a snap from Natalia, telling Angel to clean up his own mess, but she set down the papers complacently. “I’m up for some painting,” She said with a shrug. “You want to, Charlie?”   
  
Double surprise, she’d asked Charlie to join in. She usually just let her tag along, never asked her to come with her. “Oh, uh, yeah!” Charlie said, trying not to get too excited and scare her off. The hotel was working already, and she hadn’t even enacted any of her plans yet! “I’m not a great painter, though.”   
  
“That’s okay,” Natalia said, picking up a can and brush. Charlie did the same. “I don’t think any demon is gonna care about our wall quality.”   
  
“Wall-ity,” Angel added cheerfully. They’d learned he was quite the fan of awful jokes.   
  
“Every bad pun you make, you stray further from redemption,” Natalia said, but Charlie giggled.   
  
“And get closer to you~” Angel jokingly purred, meandering off to inspect the large chandelier that had decided it liked being on the floor better than the ceiling.

“Gross,” Natalia said in her usual monotone, but a small smile played on her lips.   
  
The gray demon opened the cans with a large knife she seemingly produced out of thin air, revealing some clumpy black and pink paint. “Alright, so do you want to try to paint it to look like the wallpaper?”   
  
“I thought you said it didn’t matter,” Charlie said, then realized she should be more accepting of what Natalia wanted to do. Too late now.   
  
“Oh, right,” Natalia said, dipping her brush into the pink. “Then go crazy.”   
  


\------

The girls had been painting for what felt like hours, mostly in silence, aside from the sound of Angel Dust humming to himself as he tried to rehang the chandelier. He really loved to show off his spiderly ability to climb walls and was using it in full force during their remodel.

The princess of Hell had been working very hard on painting Nuggets, who sat by her feet as an ever-patient model. So far she had really captured the...blobbiness of her. She had also painted three stick figures holding hands; her, Natalia, and Angel Dust, the first three residents of the hotel.   
  
Natalia was very intent on her painting, much more than Charlie. It was probably the most peaceful she’d seen the spear-wielding demon– her face was a mask of solemn serenity, her yellow eyes widened in a focused stare. Charlie had gotten bored of painting a while ago, but she was too afraid stepping down would shatter Natalia’s potentially fragile docile state.

Sadly, someone else had done the job of snapping Natalia out of her trance for Charlie. A glass bottle hit the gray demon right in the head, earning a loud “Fuck!” from her as she messed up her painting. “What the fuck?”   
  
Angel smiled guiltily at them from where he stood on the ceiling, five arms holding the chandelier and one waving nervously to them. The other two, of course, anchored him in his inverted stance. “Sorry, Natty.”   
  
Charlie picked up the bottle from where it circled on the linoleum floor. It read ‘Beelzebub Brewery’. “Beer? Angel! I said no stuff like this! And why– how were you drinking upside down?”   
  
“Not important,” Angel said quickly, then began his defense. “I’m sorry! I can’t just cold-turkey it, Charles! I’m only doing this because I need a roof over my head and some shelter from some baddies and you know that. My heart’s just not in it.”   
  
“You seemed to be really enjoying it here!” Charlie said disappointedly. It had really seemed like she was making progress.

“I never said I wasn’t! It’s a nice break from all the usual Hell business. I just also enjoy a nice drink,” Angel said, managing to re-hook the chandelier on its chain. He slid down the wall and turned to face Charlie as he awaited a reply.   
  
“I know, but–” Charlie let out an exasperated sigh. She’d been too hopeful that things would just fix themselves. She needed to make Angel  _ want _ to be redeemed, but how? “Fine. Just do whatever you want.”   
  
Both Angel and Natalia looked surprised at Charlie’s response. “Really? You’re just giving up already? After I let you use my building?” The latter asked.

“I’m not giving up!” Charlie snapped. She was mad– mad at herself for being so naive. “I just need to rethink how I’m gonna do this.”   
  
“Fair enough,” Angel said with a shrug.

\------

Charlie sat on her half-rotten bed, the springs creaking loudly as she sunk into the moldy mattress. Frustrated tears welled in her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t be upset– it had only been a week, and she’d been too busy trying to fix up the hotel that she hadn’t put much effort into actual rehab for Angel. She needed to try harder.   
  
A knock sounded at the door. “Can I come in?” Natalia asked.

“The lock’s broken,” Charlie replied from where she laid, her voice muffled by her pillow.   
  
She heard the door click as the other demon entered the room. “You okay?”   
  
“I’m fine. Just being dramatic.”   
  
“I know you’re blaming yourself for not already ‘fixing’ Angel Dust,” The bed sunk in as Natalia sat on the edge of it. “Change is an uphill battle. It’s gonna take a lot to help him and any other person we get to come here. You can’t expect them to be perfect. You have to be there for them in the good and the bad, and both are certainly going to rear their heads. You’re the strong one here. You can’t give up.”   


Charlie sniffled. She was surprised at the gentleness Natalia spoke with...she was usually so monotonal and gruff, but this was different. She really meant it. “I know,” She said, then sat up. Natalia wasn’t facing her, so she spoke to her back. “I just have a lot of pressure on me right now– I’m just thinking, maybe this was too big a project to take on. But I can’t get out of it. I have to succeed.”   
  
Natalia turned to face her. “What’s the big deal about this for you, anyway? You said you made a deal with your mom– is your mom, like, some hellish humanitarian?”   
  
“N-no,” Charlie said. “My mom’s Lucifer.”   
  
Natalia let out a slightly nervous laugh. “You’re joking.”   
  
“I’m not,” Charlie replied, trying to wipe away her tears and calm down. She was an adult now. She needed to act like one. “My moms sheltered me my whole life and tried to make me  _ good _ , just for fun, and I guess it worked. They wanted me to stay with them forever and never experience Hell in all its...well, hellishness, but I made a deal with them that if I could succeed in some do-gooder project out in Hell, it would prove I was able to handle myself and be free to go wherever I want and do whatever I want. So we decided on the hotel.”   
  
“Oh,” Charlie couldn’t read Natalia’s face. “So you’re telling me you’re the daughter of Lucifer and Lillith. The sister of Cain and Delilah and—”   
  
“Yeah,” Charlie cut her off, uncomfortable at the mention of her siblings. They’d never liked her. “I am.”   
  
“So you’re Charlotte Magne. Huh,” The other woman let out a tiny chuckle. “Why are you worried then? You’re the daughter of two of the most powerful women in all of Hell. You’re probably one of the strongest demons in the Ninth right now.”   
  
“Oh, I was never taught how to use my anima,” Charlie said nonchalantly.

“What?!”   
  
The anima was the soul of a demon or angel, rooted in infernal or eternal power that bound them to the realm they were sent to. It also held power–it could give one the ability to transform into its Demonic State, a transformation that unlocked the primal power of the anima for a short amount of time. It also offered milder powers in the passive forms demons used.

“My moms believed that accessing my Demonic State would ‘corrupt’ me,” Charlie elaborated. “So they never taught me anything about my anima.”   
  
“So they wouldn’t teach you something practically vital for survival out here in the wild, but they let you run free as soon as you struck a deal with them?” Natalia asked incredulously.   
  
“Yeah,” Charlie said. She’d never really thought the anima was important, but maybe it was, and she’d just never been told how truly needed it was. “I guess they just really like deals.”   
  
“Okay, well, enough crying. We’re gonna have to teach you how to use your anima. Who knows, since you’re all pure, you could have  _ good _ powers or something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for the short chapter. I'm not feeling super motivated but in the midst of some anxiety insomnia I wrote this chapter up! Thank you to everyone who's left such nice comments on my work. It means a lot that people read this! Thank you for 250 reads as well! I hope to get the next chapter up very soon!
> 
> Also, apologies for the variety in formatting these past few chapters. I'm still getting used to AO3!


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